Wild Fidalgo

I'll begin with a mystery.  On a hike in the Kukutali Preserve , I couldn't help but notice all the daisies blooming along the road.  A dark object on one of them caught my eye.  Looking closer, I knew I should get a photo of it.  I figured out it was a Harvestman , but I don't know what kind. Another name for them is "Daddy Longlegs," but this is like no Daddy Longlegs I have ever seen.  Wikipedia says, "typical body length does not exceed 7 millimeters (0.28 in)."  This one was at least twice that size.  I do get the delicate little Daddy Longlegs in my house.  They seem to like my shower.  My house guests, however, have tiny bodies that are under a quarter inch long.  Perhaps Kiket Island grows them extra large and robust.  I would enjoy hearing from anyone who can provide more information about this big guy. Harvestmen are arachnids like spiders and scorpions, but of a different order, Opiliones.  They have eight leg...

Last weekend while scouting rocks for International Rock Flipping Day , I noticed this young lady by my entry porch.  I snapped a couple of photos and returned to my rock hunt.  When I took another look at the photos, I realized what a beautiful creature this is. She is a European Garden Spider (Araneus diadematus) .  As the name implies, she is an immigrant from Europe and not a native North American arachnid .  Nevertheless, this has become one of the most familiar spiders seen in the Pacific Northwest.  They are most prevalent in late summer and fall.  Other common names include Diadem Spider, Cross Spider and Cross Orbweaver. Orbweavers (family Araneidae) are the spiders that build wheel-shaped spiral webs.  The third pair of legs are specialized for building orb webs .  They are of little use out of the web.  The web is not the spider's home.  It is a trap for catching food.  This spider will build a new web early every...